Three items of clothing in Tencel, three designers of international calibre, three days in the Fashion B.E.S.T. Studios at Fondazione Pistoletto: the number, recalling trinamics and the Third Paradise, recurs in many aspects of “Forests for Fashion – Fashion for Forests”. Before getting into the details of the project centred on sustainable fashion, let’s go through its story, begun last April. A process in which B.E.S.T., a creative laboratory dedicated to the development of organic and ethical sustainability within the textile sector since 2009, is one of the main actors.
The short film “Made in Forests”
Two months ago, Cittadellarte was the set for the shooting of the film “Made in Forests”, highlighting and illustrating the development and the productive process of a sustainable item of clothing realized with materials sourced in forests. Behind the documentary were UN Live United Nations Web TV and UNECE/FAO (specifically the Forestry and Timber Section of the UN’s European Economic Commission).What better context for a film on the theme of sustainable fashion than Cittadellarte’s Fashion B.E.S.T. Studios? Besides this “active” and representative background, the film also features the work of fashion designer Tiziano Guardini, who realized a dress especially for its protagonist Michelle Yeoh. As inferred by the title, the documentary will focus on the story of forests through showing the supply chain and the design and production creative processes, and will end with the realization of Guardini’s dress. The link to the UN’s 17 Goals of Sustainable Development is obvious throughout the whole film. One of its objectives is in fact to advocate the importance of forests in the world of sustainable fashion, generating a conscious and harmonic perception of the relationship between environment, ethics and fashion.
Three fashion designers at Cittadellarte
From 25th to 27th June, three fashion designers worked in Cittadellarte’s Fashion B.E.S.T. Studios spaces to realize three items of clothing in Tencel (a type of organic fabric). Let’s find out all the characteristics of the items, through their concept statements and the video interviews with the three protagonists Flavia La Rocca, Silvia Giovanardi and Silvio Betterelli.
Flavia La Rocca’s creation is in military green Tencel, with zippers of recycled Polyester ribbon and ceramic buttons: “What was your inspiration?” “I get inspiration from nowadays life. I always think about a contemporary girl/woman who goes around all day, who travels the world, who has no time and not enough space in her luggage. A girl/woman who loves to play with fashion, who is stylish and responsible at the same time. Why can forests contribute to sustainable fashion? Because they are a treasure for us, natural forests and sustainably managed plantations are a source of raw materials that can be used in fashion, Tencel is one of them. The most important thing is to ensure that the process is always an environmentally responsible closed loop production, with high resource efficiency and low ecological impact.
We need to take care of our forests and our planet, for us and for our children.”
Silvio Betterelli’s piece is in Tencel Lyocell jaquard with a world maps motif and details as rouches and volants. Here is his concept statement: “Why are forests important to fashion? We live in a world that is too fast. we need to reconnect to more natural rhythms, get closer to our nature as living beings. Seasons, nature, and respect for the world around us offer the only solution for a sustainable future.”
Silvia Giovanardi, co-founder and creative director of WRÅD, realized a Mintfiber top dyed with natural indigo and chlorophyll and a Lyocell skirt dyed with g_pwdr, i.e. recycled graphite powder (sustainable innovation endorsed by Perpetua).
We read in her concept statement: “Rare flowers are left hanging upside down – can we really alienate ourselves from this daunting reality? No. The current environmental crisis here becomes an opportunity for progress, finding its first resolution in the manifesto held by the two tigers – collective empowerment. A genuine and liberating approach reflected in the innovative materials and dyeing techniques adopted for this dress, which are the result of a synergic and collaborative partnership among different players united by one purpose: change.”
The conclusive stages in New York
The fashion designers’ works and the film shot in Cittadellarte will be showcased in New York. The film will in fact have its premiere at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, held from 10th to 19th July at the UN’s headquarters. On that occasion, Michelle Yeoh will wear Tiziano Guardini’s dress. In the course of the Forum, Flavia La Rocca’s, Silvia Giovanardi’s and Silvio Betterelli’s creations will also be displayed in a dedicated section (from Sunday 8th to Wednesday 18th July). In the context of New York’s Forum, Cittadellarte will be featured in three separate occasions: on 10th July, when Paolo Naldini, Cittadellarte’s director, will moderate a panel discussion on sustainable fashion; on 16th July, with the screening of “Made in Forest”; from 8th to 18th July, with the participation of the three Tencel items in the exhibition in the UN’s headquarters.
(The pictures of the items of clothing will be published simultaneously with the opening of the Forum in New York)
